ILOCANO HISTORY AND CULTURES
1 • INTRODUCTION When the Spanish first encountered them in 1572, the inhabitants of Ilocos (then called "Samtoy") were living in large villages at sheltered coves or rivermouths and were trading with the Chinese and Japanese. Although massive churches in a distinctive style give evidence of Spanish-Ilocano collaboration, the colonial period was marked by frequent revolts; the most famous of these was that led by Diego and Gabriela Silang during the British occupation of Manila in 1762–63.
Ilocanos were prominent in the nationalist movement, and many rose to high office in the central government. The greatest of these Ilocano "success stories" (as far as it went) was President Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled from 1965 to 1986.
2 • LOCATION The four provinces of the Ilocano homeland (Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and landlocked Abra) stretch from Cape Bojeador at the northwestern tip of Luzon down to the Gulf of Lingayen. Most of the population is concentrated along a narrow coastal plain that has only a few good harbors. This environment is harsh, forcing Ilocanos to be hard-working and thrifty. Many Ilocanos have left their homeland to seek employment elsewhere.
The population of the four provinces is about 1.8 million. Ilocano speakers, however, numbered 11 percent of the national population of 66 million, or 7.26 million people. Among all Filipino groups, the Ilocanos are the most famed as migrants, settling since the nineteenth century in sparsely populated expanses of the northern Central Plain of Luzon (provinces of Pangasinan, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija) and of the Cagayan Valley in the northeast. In addition, many Ilocanos have established themselves in Manila and other major cities of the country, as well as in frontier lands on Mindanao. Ilocano men left to find work as migrant laborers on sugar plantations in Hawaii and on farms in California in the first decades of the twentieth century. They were the first Filipinos to immigrate to the United States. In the Philippines, every Ilocano town has a number of men known as "Hawaiianos," returned migrants from the United States. These migrants courted their future wives in their home country by letter.
3.LANGUAGE The Ilocanos speak a Western Austronesian language of the Northern Philippine group, whose closest relatives are the languages of neighboring mountain peoples. Ilocano has become the lingua franca of northern Luzon, as Ilocano traders provide highland peoples with their primary link to the commerce of the outside world.
4.RITES OF PASSAGE Although free to choose their own marriage partners, young people seek the approval of both sets of parents. When a couple decides they'd like to marry, the first step is for the young man to ask for the consent of his own parents. His parents will pay the dowry and finance the wedding. Next, the future groom makes a formal announcement (panagpudno) to the young woman's parents of his intention to marry their daughter. The groom's parents then visit the future bride's parents, to set the date for the wedding. For this, the parents consult a planetario, an almanac identifying auspicious (good-luck) days. At a further meeting (palalian or ringpas), the young man and his relatives come to the young woman's house to finalize the wedding arrangements; each party employs a spokesperson who negotiates for his or her side in formal language. The families set the choice of wedding sponsors (an equal number, ranging from ten to fifty people for each side), the dowry (land for the couple, or the money to buy such land), the sagut (the wedding dress, jewelry, and accessories that the groom is to provide for the bride), and the parawad (cash that the groom gives the bride's mother as a reward for raising his bride).
The wedding feast follows the church ceremony. At the feast, the bride and groom go through an entertaining ritual. First, the groom offers the bride a plate of mung beans (symbolizing fertility). The bride refuses the dish several times before finally accepting it. Then the bride offers the beans to the groom who in turn refuses the dish until an old man calls an end to the ritual. (The pleadings and feigned refusals greatly amuse the onlookers.) Another highlight is the bitor: guests contribute cash to the newlyweds either by dropping money onto plates held by two men seated on a mat (representing the bride and groom, respectively) or by pinning bills to the couple's clothing while the two dance. After the wedding, offerings of rice cakes are made to the spirits of departed family members.
To announce a death formally, a piece of wood (atong) is lit in front of the deceased's house and is kept burning until after burial, at which time it is extinguished with rice wine. The corpse is kept in the house. It is dressed in its best clothes and a kerchief is tied around the jaw; a basin of water mixed with vinegar is placed under the bed to remove the odor of death. Money is placed in the coffin to pay the "ferry man" who takes the soul to the other world. In the days before burial, relatives keep vigil over the body, wailing and recounting the deceased's good deeds (sometimes, professional mourners perform the lamentation (dung-aw) .
Before the funeral itself, each of the relatives pays their last respects by kissing the deceased's hand or raising it to his or her forehead. Extreme care is taken in transporting the body from the house to the church; any mishap could cause premature death for the attendants. After the church ceremony, the relatives pose as a group for souvenir photos with the coffin. Everyone in the procession to the cemetery must return to the deceased's home by a different route from the one taken there. Upon arrival, they must wash their faces and hands in order to remove the power of death.
5. CLOTHING Dress inappropriate for one's age or perceived wealth or status attracts gossip such as mabiag ti ruar ngem matay ti uneg (outwardly alive, but inwardly dying); uray napintas no inutang (even if it is nice, it is acquired through credit). Still one should dress well for special celebrations. Everyday wear, especially at home, consists of short pants for boys, and dusters, loose skirts, shirts, and short pants for girls. Those working in the fields wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and wide-brimmed hats as protection against the sun and mud.
During the rainy season, people wear a headress of labig leaves extending well down the back. Older women wear their hair long and knotted in a bun, while men keep it short and apply pomade on special occasions.
6. FOOD Ilocano food essentially resembles that elsewhere in the country, but Ilocanos are especially fond of bagoong (a salty shrimp or fish paste). One regional specialty that has entered national cuisine is pinakbet— eggplant, bitter melon, okra, and green beans cooked with bagoong, tomatoes, and a little water (dried or broiled fish, meat, or shrimps can be added to improve the taste).
Other favorites are dinardaraan— cooked pig's blood ( dinuguan in Tagalog-Pilipino); and kilawen— the lean meat and intestines of water buffalo, cow, sheep, or goat, eaten raw or partially cooked with a sauce of vinegar, salt, hot pepper, and pig's bile.
Eating with their hands, family members squat around the food laid out on the floor or take food and eat in different parts of the main room. As food is regarded as a symbol of God's grace, there should be no noise, laughing, singing, or harsh words (including parents scolding children) while eating is going on. One should not drop food on the table or floor, or the food "will be angered and leave the household." Similarly, no one should leave the house while someone is still eating, for God's grace will go with him or her, out of the home.
Read more: http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Norway-to-Russia/Ilocanos.html#ixzz3ltPWeyDe
Ilocanos were prominent in the nationalist movement, and many rose to high office in the central government. The greatest of these Ilocano "success stories" (as far as it went) was President Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled from 1965 to 1986.
2 • LOCATION The four provinces of the Ilocano homeland (Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, and landlocked Abra) stretch from Cape Bojeador at the northwestern tip of Luzon down to the Gulf of Lingayen. Most of the population is concentrated along a narrow coastal plain that has only a few good harbors. This environment is harsh, forcing Ilocanos to be hard-working and thrifty. Many Ilocanos have left their homeland to seek employment elsewhere.
The population of the four provinces is about 1.8 million. Ilocano speakers, however, numbered 11 percent of the national population of 66 million, or 7.26 million people. Among all Filipino groups, the Ilocanos are the most famed as migrants, settling since the nineteenth century in sparsely populated expanses of the northern Central Plain of Luzon (provinces of Pangasinan, Tarlac, and Nueva Ecija) and of the Cagayan Valley in the northeast. In addition, many Ilocanos have established themselves in Manila and other major cities of the country, as well as in frontier lands on Mindanao. Ilocano men left to find work as migrant laborers on sugar plantations in Hawaii and on farms in California in the first decades of the twentieth century. They were the first Filipinos to immigrate to the United States. In the Philippines, every Ilocano town has a number of men known as "Hawaiianos," returned migrants from the United States. These migrants courted their future wives in their home country by letter.
3.LANGUAGE The Ilocanos speak a Western Austronesian language of the Northern Philippine group, whose closest relatives are the languages of neighboring mountain peoples. Ilocano has become the lingua franca of northern Luzon, as Ilocano traders provide highland peoples with their primary link to the commerce of the outside world.
4.RITES OF PASSAGE Although free to choose their own marriage partners, young people seek the approval of both sets of parents. When a couple decides they'd like to marry, the first step is for the young man to ask for the consent of his own parents. His parents will pay the dowry and finance the wedding. Next, the future groom makes a formal announcement (panagpudno) to the young woman's parents of his intention to marry their daughter. The groom's parents then visit the future bride's parents, to set the date for the wedding. For this, the parents consult a planetario, an almanac identifying auspicious (good-luck) days. At a further meeting (palalian or ringpas), the young man and his relatives come to the young woman's house to finalize the wedding arrangements; each party employs a spokesperson who negotiates for his or her side in formal language. The families set the choice of wedding sponsors (an equal number, ranging from ten to fifty people for each side), the dowry (land for the couple, or the money to buy such land), the sagut (the wedding dress, jewelry, and accessories that the groom is to provide for the bride), and the parawad (cash that the groom gives the bride's mother as a reward for raising his bride).
The wedding feast follows the church ceremony. At the feast, the bride and groom go through an entertaining ritual. First, the groom offers the bride a plate of mung beans (symbolizing fertility). The bride refuses the dish several times before finally accepting it. Then the bride offers the beans to the groom who in turn refuses the dish until an old man calls an end to the ritual. (The pleadings and feigned refusals greatly amuse the onlookers.) Another highlight is the bitor: guests contribute cash to the newlyweds either by dropping money onto plates held by two men seated on a mat (representing the bride and groom, respectively) or by pinning bills to the couple's clothing while the two dance. After the wedding, offerings of rice cakes are made to the spirits of departed family members.
To announce a death formally, a piece of wood (atong) is lit in front of the deceased's house and is kept burning until after burial, at which time it is extinguished with rice wine. The corpse is kept in the house. It is dressed in its best clothes and a kerchief is tied around the jaw; a basin of water mixed with vinegar is placed under the bed to remove the odor of death. Money is placed in the coffin to pay the "ferry man" who takes the soul to the other world. In the days before burial, relatives keep vigil over the body, wailing and recounting the deceased's good deeds (sometimes, professional mourners perform the lamentation (dung-aw) .
Before the funeral itself, each of the relatives pays their last respects by kissing the deceased's hand or raising it to his or her forehead. Extreme care is taken in transporting the body from the house to the church; any mishap could cause premature death for the attendants. After the church ceremony, the relatives pose as a group for souvenir photos with the coffin. Everyone in the procession to the cemetery must return to the deceased's home by a different route from the one taken there. Upon arrival, they must wash their faces and hands in order to remove the power of death.
5. CLOTHING Dress inappropriate for one's age or perceived wealth or status attracts gossip such as mabiag ti ruar ngem matay ti uneg (outwardly alive, but inwardly dying); uray napintas no inutang (even if it is nice, it is acquired through credit). Still one should dress well for special celebrations. Everyday wear, especially at home, consists of short pants for boys, and dusters, loose skirts, shirts, and short pants for girls. Those working in the fields wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and wide-brimmed hats as protection against the sun and mud.
During the rainy season, people wear a headress of labig leaves extending well down the back. Older women wear their hair long and knotted in a bun, while men keep it short and apply pomade on special occasions.
6. FOOD Ilocano food essentially resembles that elsewhere in the country, but Ilocanos are especially fond of bagoong (a salty shrimp or fish paste). One regional specialty that has entered national cuisine is pinakbet— eggplant, bitter melon, okra, and green beans cooked with bagoong, tomatoes, and a little water (dried or broiled fish, meat, or shrimps can be added to improve the taste).
Other favorites are dinardaraan— cooked pig's blood ( dinuguan in Tagalog-Pilipino); and kilawen— the lean meat and intestines of water buffalo, cow, sheep, or goat, eaten raw or partially cooked with a sauce of vinegar, salt, hot pepper, and pig's bile.
Eating with their hands, family members squat around the food laid out on the floor or take food and eat in different parts of the main room. As food is regarded as a symbol of God's grace, there should be no noise, laughing, singing, or harsh words (including parents scolding children) while eating is going on. One should not drop food on the table or floor, or the food "will be angered and leave the household." Similarly, no one should leave the house while someone is still eating, for God's grace will go with him or her, out of the home.
Read more: http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Norway-to-Russia/Ilocanos.html#ixzz3ltPWeyDe